Lillian's vow or, The mystery of Raleigh House
she consented to marry me. But she repudiated me after the marriage,
and declared that she had sacrificed herself to save the man she
loved. I swear that this is a full and true confession, so help me God!
“RICHARD RALEIGH.”
Silence in the room--utter silence as the last words are traced.
Richard Raleigh’s face was like marble, and his eyes wore a hunted,
desperate look. He opened a drawer in the escritoire and took from it
a small leather case; it contained two revolvers--one was empty, the
other loaded. He removed the latter from its crimson velvet bed and
passed his hand lightly over it, a cynical expression upon his face.
“Six shots,” he muttered, sharply; “six chances of emigration to
another world!”
His lip curled scornfully; he threw his handsome head back with a
gesture of disdain.
“Bah! what do I fear?” he cried, contemptuously. “What is it that
Bulwer says:
“‘Fear life--not death;
To whatever bourne my breath is borne, the way is easy now; for life,
Like a pagan sacrifice, leads us on to the great high priest with the
knife.
Bitter? I dare not be bitter in the few last hours left to live--
Needing so much forgiveness, God grant me at least to forgive!
And there’ll be no space for the ghost of her face
Down in that narrow room--
And the mole is blind, and the worm is mute--
And there _must_ be rest in the tomb!’
Farewell, dear world!” he cried, sarcastically. “I am going to another,
and, let us hope, a better one! Hush! I hear the sound of footsteps
upon the stairs. Come, my friend; the hour draws nigh. The officers!
the officers!” he cried, starting up. “But I shall escape them!” he
added, sinking slowly back into his seat once more.
The revolver was pressed against his temple; the footsteps came
nearer--nearer; they halt at the door of his chamber, and then a
loud rap resounded throughout the house--a rap which was followed by
a startling report. Richard’s fingers closed over the weapon in his
grasp; he pulled the trigger.
* * * * *
In Rosamond’s sick-room, whither she has returned, his mother hears the
ominous report. Pale and trembling, she stands for a moment, then she
dashes open the door, only to find herself confronted by her husband.
Grafton Raleigh looks like a ghost as he grasps her hand and leads her
into an adjoining room.
“Be brave!” he moans, “for an awful calamity has come upon us!”
And then with many pauses, and between her sobs and broken cries, he
tells her the story--the whole ghastly story of how her only son has
died.
The sound of footsteps upon the stairs had not been the footsteps of
the officers come to drag him away, but some of Richard’s own boon
companions who had come in haste to consult him upon some matter of
importance to them.
The ghastly remains of Richard Raleigh were buried away out of sight,
and poor Lillian, having placed her affairs, together with his dying
confession, in the hands of a competent lawyer, was soon installed
heiress to her uncle’s fortune. Through her agency the affairs of the
Raleighs were set straight, and no one knew how nearly they had come to
ruin.
Rosamond recovered--a pale wreck. The first thing that she did was to
send for Jack Lyndon and give him his freedom. She afterward married
old Arbuthnot, and although she will never entirely recover her mental
equilibrium, she leads society in her city to-day. For brain is not a
requisite for the average leader of fashion.
Lenore and Cyril live in a handsome house in the most aristocratic
quarter of the city, and are so very happy that they are learning to
forget the sad past.
Bessie Vernon eloped with Charlie Stuart soon after the return of
Lenore to America--even at the very time that she was refusing to
acknowledge Lenore as a friend.
* * * * *
“Jack, Jack! look up and say that you forgive me for ever harboring
such a dreadful suspicion against you.”
The journalist lifted his head from the writing with which he was
busily engaged, and saw standing before him a slim, black-robed figure.
Perhaps he thought of another interview which once took place in the
office of the “Thunderer” as he arose and stood before Lillian, pale
and still.
“Don’t look at me like that!” she cried; “but say that you forgive me;
for oh, Jack, you do not know how I have suffered!”
“I forgive you! Of course I could not do otherwise!” he returned,
gravely. “You were under the influence of a wicked man, and--”
“You do care a little for me still, don’t you, Jack?” all pride
thrown to the winds now, and her two hands clasping his. She knows
his stubborn pride--the pride which will not give way an inch; and
she knows that never for one moment does he forget the difference
between the poor journalist and the heiress to a million. But Lillian
is determined to have no more misunderstandings, so she clings to his
hands and looks straight into his eyes.
“Jack, you asked me once to be your wife. I--I have never cared for any
one but you! If you--would--ask me again!”
He stoops and gathers her close to his heart, and their eyes meet in a
look of deathless affection--perfect trust.
“Dear love!” he whispers, softly--“the one love of my life!”
THE END.
THE FOLLOWING BOOKS
--BY--
CHARLES GARVICE
ARE NOW READY IN
THE LAUREL LIBRARY:
No.
3 Paid For! (Her Ransom).
4 Elaine.
6 On Love’s Altar (A Wasted Love).
11 Better than Life.
17 Married at Sight.
18 Once in a Life.
19 A Life’s Mistake.
20 She Loved Him.
21 The Marquis.
23 ’Twas Love’s Fault (Nance).
24 Queen Kate.
25 His Love So True (Leslie’s Loyalty)
26 In Cupid’s Chains.
27 Just a Girl (A Strange Duchess).
28 The Outcast of the Family.
29 The Mistress of Court Regna (Claire). Illustrated.
30 A Coronet of Shame.
31 An Innocent Girl (Her Heart’s Desire). Illustrated.
32 By Devious Ways (The Girl of His Heart). Illustrated.
33 Story of a Passion. Illustrated.
35 Lorrie; or, Hollow Gold.
37 Heart for Heart.
39 A Modern Juliet.
40 Nell of Shorne Mills.
41 A Heritage of Hate.
42 The Shadow of Her Life.
43 Love, the Tyrant.
44 At Love’s Cost.
45 With All Her Heart.
49 Only a Girl’s Love.
50 Leola Dale’s Fortune.
51 Only One Love.
52 His Guardian Angel.
56 Iris; or, Under the Shadow.
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Age of Reason.
BEING AN INVESTIGATION OF
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